Afghan Women

Since the withdrawal of international forces in 2021, Afghanistan has fallen to last place in global rankings of gender equity and women’s security. A second Taliban regime is violating Afghan women’s basic human rights, segregating them from public life and keeping opportunities and independence out of reach.

Despite the Taliban’s 100 plus decrees targeting women and girls and a lack of international support, Afghan women have demonstrated tremendous resilience, staging weekly protests and opening underground schools for girls.

Too Soft, Too Tough, Never Just Right: The Impossible Standard for Women Leaders

PUBLISHED 8/28/2026 by

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!

This week:
—”My mother started in politics in her early thirties. Over the course of her career, she tried to run multiple times. But for one reason or another, it was never quite her turn. … Whatever regrets, pity or unfairness she’s carried, she has simply accepted in silence, just like lots of other women I have encountered in my life.”
—Wednesday was Women’s Equality Day. Even with every constitutional right guaranteed on paper, would our electoral system actually produce a government where women hold their fair share of power? Right now, the answer is no.
—Already the first Muslim woman and first Afghan American to serve in the California state senate, Wahab is the first Afghan American to serve in Congress.
—Minnesota is among 18 states to never elect a woman as governor. But earlier this month, women swept the nominations for open seats for governor and U.S. Senate in their primaries.
—Tressie McMillan Cottom asks, “Is Ocasio-Cortez ready for the glass cliff?”
—”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s blocking of promotions for high-ranking women in the military has contributed to the lowest percentage of such nominations for women in at least 25 years,” according to a New York Times analysis.

… and more.

Ms. Global: Genocide in Sudan, Withdrawal of HIV Funding in South Africa, Two Killed in Protests in Afghanistan Over Arrests of Women

PUBLISHED 7/20/2026 by and

The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to healthcare. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems.

Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.

This month: news from Sudan, South Africa, Afghanistan and more.

A (Brief) History of Women’s Rights, 1600 to Present

PUBLISHED 6/3/2026 by and

From the Haudenosaunee women who successfully challenged warfare in the 17th century, to today’s feminist organizers defending democracy, reproductive freedom and civil rights, the struggle for women’s equality has never been a straight line. It is a story of persistence, resistance and collective action spanning centuries.

Compiled by editors at Ms. and researchers from the National Women’s History Alliance, this women’s history timeline traces the interconnected histories of feminism, abolition, labor organizing, civil rights, reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ liberation and democratic participation.

No timeline can fully capture more than 400 years of feminist history, let alone every movement, leader, victory and setback that has shaped the ongoing fight for equality. Rather than offering a comprehensive account, this chronology highlights pivotal moments and turning points that help tell the story of how women have expanded the boundaries of freedom, democracy and human rights in the United States and beyond.

The timeline is part of Ms. magazine’s FEMINIST 250: Founding Feminists project, a multimedia essay series marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by examining the women and feminist movements that have worked to make the nation’s founding promises more fully realized. Through reported features, essays, interviews and historical analysis, FEMINIST 250 explores not only where we have been, but where we must go next to achieve true equality.

FEMINIST 250’s Parts 2 and 3—Feminist Lessons and Feminist Futures—drop this month on MsMagazine.com.

Ms. Global: From Ukraine to Lebanon to Sudan, Women Are Bearing the Brunt of Escalating Global Conflict

PUBLISHED 5/21/2026 by

Around the world, escalating armed conflict, political repression and humanitarian collapse are reshaping daily life for women and girls—often with devastating consequences. From drone warfare in Sudan, to internet blackouts in Iran, to attacks on healthcare infrastructure in Lebanon and Gaza, women are navigating intensifying threats while also sustaining families, communities and survival networks under extraordinary strain. At the same time, women-led organizations and feminist movements confronting these crises increasingly face funding cuts, political repression and shrinking civic space even as demand for their work grows.

Globally, over 676 million women and girls live within 50 kilometers of armed conflict, representing about 17 percent of the female population. This staggering figure—a 74 percent increase since 2010—is tracked and analyzed by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security in partnership with PRIO.

But we also know: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the world’s most urgent crises. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide—and the gendered realities shaping conflict, displacement, political repression and survival.

Afghan Women’s Refugee Football Team Officially Recognized by FIFA in Landmark Victory

PUBLISHED 5/12/2026 by

For the first time since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 that forced Afghan women athletes into exile, Afghanistan’s women’s refugee football team has officially been granted recognition to compete in international tournaments under FIFA. This decision marks a rare and meaningful victory for Afghan women, whose rights, education and participation in public life have been systematically erased under Taliban rule for the past five years.

The FIFA Council announced the team formerly known as Afghan Women United will now be recognized as the Afghanistan women’s football team, allowing the players to compete in international competitions despite the Taliban-controlled Afghan Football Federation refusing to acknowledge women’s sports.

The players are now expected to participate in future international competitions and could potentially enter qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

For many Afghan women, the moment carries meaning far beyond World Cup football. It serves as a reminder that despite years of repression, Afghan girls and women have not abandoned their ambitions, talents or dreams. Even after being pushed out of schools, workplaces, stadiums and public life, they continue to fight for spaces where they can exist freely and represent themselves on the world stage.

Nazia Ali, an Australia-based player on the team, reflected on the emotional significance of once again being able to represent Afghanistan officially. “For the last few years, we have played under many names—as refugees, as Afghan Women United, and as guests of other clubs—but in our hearts, we were always the national team.”

Women and the Taliban: Apartheid by Another Name

PUBLISHED 3/6/2026 by

Apartheid is the one Afrikaans word that the whole world knows. It is arguably South Africa’s greatest contribution to the development of international criminal law so far.

As a South African who lived under apartheid, I recognize the same architecture of systemic oppression in the Taliban’s rule over women in Afghanistan.

In the same way that Black people were excluded from spaces and services—“whites only” beaches and benches, for example, and entire suburbs—women in Afghanistan are excluded from public life. They are not permitted to travel outside their homes without a mahram, a close male relative. Authorities have instructed businesses and health clinics to refuse services to all women who are not accompanied by a mahram.

Ms. Global: Iranian Girls’ School Hit in U.S.-Israeli Strikes, Taliban Legalize Domestic Violence, The Netherlands’ First Gay Prime Minister, and More

PUBLISHED 3/5/2026 by and | UPDATED 3/22/2026 at 4:55 P.M. PT

The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to healthcare. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.

This week: stories from Iran, Afghanistan, the Netherlands and more.

Taliban’s New Penal Code Codifies Violence, Obedience and Gender Apartheid

PUBLISHED 2/24/2026 by

On Jan. 7, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada signed off on the “Penal Principles of Taliban Courts,” a sweeping new penal code that fundamentally reshapes Afghanistan’s legal system: formalizing violence, criminalizing dissent, legalizing slavery and stripping women of legal personhood under the guise of religious law. It took effect immediately without public announcement or consultation. 

The regulation only became public weeks later after an Afghan human rights organization, Rawadari, published the text, raising alarm over provisions that legalize slavery, authorize private violence and institutionalize repression across nearly every aspect of life.

According to the regulation, absolute obedience to the Taliban’s supreme leader is mandatory. The penal code also codifies a rigid social hierarchy, dividing society into four classes and explicitly recognizing individuals as either “free” or “enslaved,” with harsher punishments imposed on those deemed lower status. Human rights advocates warn this structure institutionalizes discrimination and revives concepts long prohibited under international law.

Women are among the most severely targeted. Under multiple iniquitous provisions, husbands are authorized to punish their wives through discretionary violence, while domestic abuse is only recognized as a crime in limited circumstances and carries a maximum sentence of 15 days imprisonment for the perpetrator. 

In contrast, forcing animals to fight carries a longer prison sentence than severe violence against women—reinforcing a sinister legal hierarchy in which women’s lives are afforded less protection than animal welfare. 

These codes are not merely domestic policies. They will shape the psychological, social and moral landscape of an entire population and a new generation growing up under the Taliban’s brutal regime. Children are being raised under a system where violence is law, obedience is survival and women are denied humanity. The cost of inaction will not be measured only in today’s abuses, but in the long-term destabilization of Afghan society and the normalization of extremist governance beyond its borders.

Serious Work Begins to Create a Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity

PUBLISHED 2/3/2026 by and

Afghanistan. Myanmar. Syria. The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Over the last 80 years, there has rarely been a situation of atrocity that has not been marked by the commission of crimes against humanity. These crimes, defined by their widespread or systematic nature, target civilians and devastate societies.

Yet, while the international community has created legal regimes to address war crimes and genocide, we lack a global legal architecture for the prevention, suppression and punishment of crimes against humanity, leaving millions across the globe at risk and justice elusive for survivors.

The start of negotiations for such a treaty is not just overdue; it is of historic importance. Late last month, the United Nations General Assembly launched a four-year process to prepare for and negotiate a new global treaty to prevent and punish crimes against humanity by 2028. If it is crafted with ambition and resolve, it can be a game-changer for international accountability, strengthen the rules-based order and offer hope and justice to victims and survivors.